Author and psychiatrist James Phelps presented a thought provoking presentation about the notion of a mood spectrum (from very unipolar to very bipolar) and how that idea is changing the way that clinicians work with people with depression. The title of the presentation was “A More Nuanced View of Hypomania” but the talk itself is broader than that. The spectrum …
Newcomers to the practice of mindfulness meditation tend to imagine that mindfulness practice should ideally be associated with a state of calm happiness or relaxed bliss, so the idea of mindfulness as an approach to illness may seem odd or incongruous. It is worth going back a few years to Jon Kabat-Zinn‘s early work popularizing mindfulness in the United States. …
My fall preparation for 2017 illustrates the lessons learned over the past two years about what affects sleep.
Purposeful living makes us stronger – that is the conclusion of a study of people over the age of 50. We all know that physical health and mental health are closely connected, and changes in one can have tremendous effects on the other. However, there is often a lack of empirical evidence to back up recommendations for a change in …
Gateway’s Bipolar 101 – Online Group Therapy Last week we started the Bipolar 101 Group at Gateway Psychiatric, the second time we’ve hosted this group. It was inspiring to see how a sense of community and connection can develop so quickly in an online meeting. I regularly hear of the value that support plays in the lives of people I …
Why a post about how to supercharge your circadian rhythms? The fact is that for a lot of us our bodies and our brains have a hard time adapting to modern life and the result is poor quality sleep, daytime fatigue, and, for some, depression. What Are Circadian Rhythms? Circadian rhythms are what allow your body to go from vigorous …
Isolation. Seems like we should have conquered that by now. With all our high tech tools, friending, connecting and tweeting, how can anybody be lonely anymore? Yet isolation and loneliness are real problems, burdening people who struggle with the ordinary stresses of life, and exacerbating mental and physical illnesses. The Internet is not a solution to all our problems, it’s …
Strength, Rock Climbing and Recovery I recently had a conversation with a client who started rock climbing. As a rock climber myself, I get very excited to see people taking up the sport. Over the years I have witnessed how rock climbing can be an important part of someone’s recovery, whether healing from an addiction, depression, anxiety, or a break …
Lower the pressure to be more effective, tips on managing stress.
This is a quote from one of my patients which illustrates how profoundly a regular meditation practice can affect mood and anxiety. The woman who shared this experience with me is a genuine skeptic about all things “new age” and that made her words even more meaningful in my mind… “The most important thing to know is that for the …
Several of my patients reported odd changes in their sleep and their energy level this past week, as though there was an epidemic of fatigue going around. They noted that their sleep was a bit more disrupted and that they didn’t feel as rested in the morning and, for the first time in months, they began taking afternoon naps. Going …
We met a few days ago with one of our favorite people. She’s a writer and an artist and she has been gradually reducing some of her medications to see whether the combination of more diligent self-care and a lower dose of medications can lead to better quality of life and a return of some of her creative capacities. This …
Types of Anxiety and Mood One of the most complicated questions we face working with people who have experienced depression or mood swings has to do with the relationship between mood and anxiety. One way of trying to bring a little bit of clarity to this discussion is by considering the different types of anxiety. In this post we will …
The question of when is a good mood too good and what to do about it lies at the heart of my recurring experience that, as a psychiatrist specializing in working with people with bipolar and depression, I find myself in the uncomfortable position of being a spoilsport from time to time. Actually, sometimes it is much worse than that. …
Successful Return to Work Return to work is an important step in the recovery process for many people with bipolar or depression. Work is not just important financially. It is an key source of self-esteem and purpose, and a place where many people experience a strong sense of community. For these reasons, return to work is often an extremely important …
Bipolar disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have overlapping clinical symptoms. Both disorders are associated with impulsive decision making, physical hyperactivity, mood reactivity, difficulty with sustained focus, among other symptoms. The challenge of distinguishing between two conditions with similar presentations can cause delays in treatment, inaccurate diagnosis, adverse reactions to treatment, and needless suffering. Approaches to treatment are quite different …
A detailed and impressive study finds dramatically increased alcohol use disorders in the US in the past decade. Between 2001-2002 and 2012-2013, regular high-risk drinking increased by almost 30%, and the number of people meeting criteria for alcohol use disorder grew by 49.4%. What else do we know about the health of Americans in the past few years? We know …
How to respond to the fear of catastrophe? Many people are having trouble getting to sleep these days. Fear of catastrophe has reemerged as we contemplate the craziness of nuclear war. This seems like a good time to review what we know about situations where there is the potential for something really bad to happen but the magnitude and nature of that …
Coming Out Proud is the name of a program that was developed Patrick Corrigan to help people with a “mental illness” think through the risks and benefits of disclosure, and come up with a strategy that not only fits their values but avoids some of the many pitfalls of greater honesty about bipolar or depression. The full program takes you …
Yoga can be an incredible tool in well-being and recovery, why not check out the five reasons to start a yoga practice below! 1. Stress Management Stress management is a huge factor in managing mood and well-being. Increases in stress can lead to disrupted sleep, weakened immune systems, and mood episodes. Yoga has shown to help people manage stress on …
